


Finding What You Never Looked For

by Silex



Category: Original Work
Genre: Cryptids, Cultural Differences, Developing Relationship, First Meetings, Florida, Hiking, M/M, Male Friendship, Skunk Ape
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 23:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20786894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silex/pseuds/Silex
Summary: Grant never thought Skunk Apes were real, let alone that he'd fine an injured one while out hiking.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sweetcarolanne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetcarolanne/gifts).

_The thing about the everglades was that the wilderness extended well beyond the area officially encompassed by them. Fields of sawgrass and saw palmetto stretched for miles and miles along the highways and even if there were areas where there were more loblolly than slash pines. After a heavy rain it was hard to tell where the wetlands began and ended, so as far as Grant and his friends had cared to understand back when they were younger, the everglades kind of went on forever, never really stopping, just fading in and out._

_They weren’t the only thing that faded in and out though. Along the highway there were countless rest stops, scenic overlooks and odd abandoned places, where you could take a break on a long drive to and from nowhere just to see what was and wasn’t there. If you got to the overlooks at just the right time of year after just the right weather sometimes they were interesting enough with flowers, birds and butterflies to see, but most of the time they were just scrub and almost sickly looking trees, like they knew that there’d once been a time when fires would regularly blaze through and put an end to them and that they were impatient for it to happen again._

_Grant remembered the wildfires that had swept through the state back when he was in high school, how they’d felt like an adventure passing somewhere in the distance. The sky had been flat gray with smoke and heavy with the threat that if the wind changed they might be evacuated or at the very least school be canceled for a few days. That hadn’t happened, the winds hadn’t changed, or the rain had come, or the fires burned themselves out on their own. He and his friends had driven up to one of the areas where the fires had burned one long weekend, just to see._

_They found a sort of parking place along the side of the road with a sign that said it was the entrance to some hiking trail and they went for a walk. It was strange, clumps of heavy gray ash on the ground, trees little more than broken black sticks, some still standing, and no brush whatsoever. It was like they could see for miles until everything faded into gray on gray. The crazy thing had been that there were birds everywhere, not just vultures like he’d expected, but all kinds, picking through the ash and the bark of the dead trees, like they were looking for something._

_Of course his friends all thought that the real crazy thing was finding the rusted metal skeleton of some old piece of farm equipment a few hundred yards off the trail. There were enough fallen trees around it that it would have been invisible if they’d still been alive and standing. How long had the thing been out there and how had it gotten out there?_

_As he got older and had less time to wander and explore and therefore took it more seriously Grant gained an appreciation for how it worked, because just as the everglades didn’t really just begin or end, what displaced them wasn’t cleanly demarked either. Drive enough along the highway and you’d find little dirt roads that went somewhere or nowhere. Along some of them there’d be wooden posts and maybe a bit of fallen chain, cordoning them off from one. Follow them long enough and you might find an old collapsed fence with a ‘Private Property’ or ‘No Trespassing’ sign which were just as easy to ignore as the chains that had or hadn’t been there farther back on the trail. He tended to take ‘No Hunting’ signs a bit more seriously, mostly because of the thought that he might not be the only person out there ignoring signs. _

_There had been plenty of times where he’d been out, if not in the middle of nowhere, than somewhere only slightly south of it, and heard gunshots in the distance. If he’d had to guess most of them were shotguns, occasionally small rifles and once, something much larger that seemed to echo despite there being nothing for the sound to bounce off of. Occasionally he even found the makeshift shooting ranges, some of them down narrow trails, seemingly impossible to get to by any means other than walking. They always seemed recently used, beer bottles and spent shells littering the ground, sometimes footprints were still visible in the sandy soil._

_But he never encountered the people who used them. In fact, unless he was deliberately walking one of the more popular trails, he hardly ever saw anyone._

_That was something that always stood out in his mind, that plenty of people went walking, but you hardly ever saw them. He’d often park next to half a dozen or more cars and rarely see the matching number of people. They were out there, walking the same trails in theory, but they hardly ever crossed paths._

_It made him think of what else might be out there, invisible in the brush like the old rusty tractor he and his friends had found._

_And if someone or something didn’t want to be seen…_

_Potentially dangerous wildlife and that thought kept him wary of any out of place sight or sound. Feral hogs, gators, panthers and coyotes were commonly mentioned dangers, as well as snakes. He’d seen plenty of snakes, usually slithering away from him and hiding in the brush, an uncomfortable number of gator mounds when he went through wetter areas, and what might have been panther tracks once or twice, but he’d never had any close encounters unless he counted nearly hitting a feral hog while driving home one night. The thing hadn’t gotten out of the road, staring him down and forcing him to swerve to miss it before it continued across the road._

_That an animal that large and supposedly so common, had managed to remain elusive was something else. True he wasn’t looking for them when he went walking, but he’d have thought that something so big would be easy to spot in the distance. Or that he would have at least heard them moving around in the brush._

_The wildlife wasn’t the only potentially dangerous interesting thing out there. The remains of what people left behind were abundant if you walked the right trails or went off them in the right places._

_You never knew when you’d come across a faded trail marker looking to mislead you down a path that would vanish after a few hundred feet, or grow fainter and fainter until, after following it for a mile, you looked back and saw that you were surrounded by woods with no trail in sight. Crest a small rise and you might find yourself looking down on an inexplicable patch of marshland with an equally inexplicable crumbling stone wall stretching a few hundred feet in either direction before vanishing. Fallen fences and twists of barbed wire rusted to the point where they were as brittle as the vines they resembled, were a very real danger if you decided to make your own path and if the ground was marshy, the trail flooded and you found yourself abandoning it for the path of least resistance you never knew what you’d stumble across._

_Once it had been the remains of a house so old that the crumbling foundation was all that was left._

_That had unnerved him because, after walking circles around it, he couldn’t find a real path too it, like it had just been plopped down in the middle of the woods and then abandoned because of how inaccessible it was._

_Then there was trash, it always bothered him that no matter how far out you went there’d always be a candy wrapper blowing through the leaves, a deflated balloon caught in the trees or an old bottle on the ground. One of the bottles was strange enough that he picked it up and took it home with him. It was from a dairy that a quick web search determined had been out of business for nearly a hundred years so that was interesting at least, as was the thought that it had been out there for all that time and no one ever found it before him. His web search had shown that there were people who collected bottles, went out looking for them so it should have been found._

_But it hadn’t, not until him. _

_There was so much to find that was so hard to stumble across that it was a miracle that he even found N’thoth._


	2. Chapter 2

It had been just another Saturday, the start of a long weekend where he had no real plans other than hiking and seeing what he could see. Thanks to the time of year and the weather birdwatching was a good option and he started early, driving south along the highway until he saw a rest stop in a promising area. Which wasn’t to say that the rest stop itself was promising.

Set a fifty or so feet back from the highway it was, for lack of a better way of calling it, an abandoned one. There was a gate across the trail, padlocked, but easy enough to walk around, and a half collapsed shed that might once have been a bathroom or a booth for selling bric-a-bracs to tourists was nearly hidden by weeds.

Several banana spiders had built their webs on the gate and it was early enough in the day that they were still occupied with the night’s prey.

Morning was the best time to watch for birds and the spider’s webs being intact meant that he was probably the first person to come through the area that day, meaning any wildlife in the area hadn’t been spooked off. There was no telling what he might see and that was always exciting.

The trail he found, like so many of those at seldom used locations, started out wide and overgrown, forcing him to step carefully, though it eventually condensed into a thin, mostly cleared path of hard packed, bare ground that wound around puddles and trees.

In those puddles frogs let out alarm cries and jumped into the reeds and water as he walked by before coming up to watch him, only their glossy black eyes sticking above the surface.

There were dozens of them and in some of the larger puddles tadpoles swam while dragonfly nymphs hunted. It was a little early for the dragonflies themselves to be out, but later in the day the air was sure to be thick with them.

Grant followed the path as it wound deeper and deeper into the forest to slightly dryer land. Not surprisingly, on higher ground, it veered to a clearing in the trees and there the usual signs of human passing were found, broken bottles and a circle of rocks, black and gray with the soot of countless fires.

The remains of random fires was something he came across often enough while out in the woods that he didn’t pay it much mind. The ashes were long cool, the risk of coming across anyone slim at best. Of course he still kept his cellphone with him, just in case he ran into trouble or got lost. It hadn’t happened yet, but he wasn’t one to tempt fate. For the same reason he also made sure to have an actual compass with him and not just a phone app. Getting lost was easy enough, especially when there were times it was hard to tell if you were following an actual trail or just something left by the local wildlife.

This was one of those hard to be sure of trails. There were a few paths branching off from the clearing and he chose the most likely looking of them, but after just ten or so minutes of walking it started to fade out, growing thinner and more difficult to follow as it wound between trees and low laying areas. Grant payed careful attention, not just to where he was stepping, but to his surroundings, knowing that it would be important on his way back out of later.

The trail moved slightly downwards, the ground growing increasingly marshy, puddles growing larger until there were actual clearings. The water itself was shallow enough that it was probably seasonal, drying into wildflower meadows around a few permanent pools when there wasn’t enough rain, but there had been plenty of rain lately. Birdsong filled the trees and he spent as much time looking up as he did down, hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the rarer birds in the area. A blue heron passed directly overhead, low enough that he could hear the sound of its wings through the air before it landed on the opposite edge of the pond from him and stood stock still, waiting for the fish and frogs to forget it was there.

Skirting the edge of the pond Grant kept an eye out for gator mounds and the muddy paths where they climbed in and out of the water. He didn’t see any, but there were turtles everywhere and some of those were big enough that if one decided to stand its ground rather than slip away into the water he’d have trouble.

Using an enormous cypress tree as a landmark as well as a destination he kept going. The tree was massive, far larger than any of the others in the area, having somehow survived logging and fires alike, remaining untouched, a reminder of the times before anyone had set foot in this forest.

Looking around he noticed that there was no trash anywhere to be found, no sign that there had been anyone other than him through the area, as though he were the first person to see any of this.

He knew it was a foolish thought, that no area was truly untouched by humanity, but it was still there in his head as he kept walking around the pond, watching as dragonflies rose up and began their hunt as the air grew warmer.

Grant wasn’t sure exactly when he became aware of it, the faint whiff of what he assumed to be fox over the smell of the mud and water disturbed by his passage. There were enough ducks and other water birds showing up that foxes were a definite possibility here and if he was lucky he might see one looking through the reeds for nests.

As the smell grew stronger he slowed down, after all foxes weren’t the only ones who liked eggs and catching a skunk by surprise all the way out here would be a disaster. The walk back would be miserable and he’d never get the smell out of his car. Best to take things carefully, try to pinpoint where the animal might be if it was still there.

Reeds moved in the wind, occasionally shaking as a large frog or fish disturbed them, unseen things rustled and chirped. Creatures, both large and small were all around him, the forest full of life.

The wind blew stronger, several birds took flight, a frog hopped into the water with a shrill cry, branches in the trees rattled against each other, larger ones making groaning sounds as they rubbed against each other. The weather forecast had predicted storms later in the day, but judging by the blue sky above they were still some time off.

Somewhere close by something let out a sighing noise.

This time Grant froze completely, trying to place the sound. It could have been the wind, or air bubbles forced out of the mud by his passage, but he didn’t think so. There was something out of place about the sound.

The wind died down, normal noises of the wildlife taking its place, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something else nearby, something that shouldn’t have been. His eyes swept the water for eyes peering up at him as an alligator approached, and the shore for tamped down reeds marking their comings and goings. Nothing, though there was a trail, wide and well-worn as any he traveled in his explorations. Of course he wasn’t the first one to come this way, he had followed existing trails after all. This one though, there was something about it.

Something about the whole situation had him at ill ease, an out of place sound and the unshakable feeling that he wasn’t alone.

It could have been a game trail, something far larger and more menacing than a skunk might step into view at any moment. Wild hogs were supposed to be aggressive, but did that aggression extend to chasing people down? He didn’t know and didn’t want to find out.

At the same time he knew that animals were at their most dangerous when surprised and that predators could be deterred by the simple knowledge that you were aware of them.

Grant took a deep breath, bracing himself for the unknown, “Hello?”

He tried to sound confident, keep any hint of fear out of his voice because he’d heard that dogs at least could sense fear so maybe other animals could too. Still he flinched at the sound of his voice, too sudden and too loud, frightening several ducks into flight.

A few yards from him, up away from the pond, the reeds rustled and something let out a deep groan.

As soon as he turned to look directly at the source of the sound the movement stopped. It was loud, low to the ground and like nothing he’d heard before. At least nothing he’d heard out alone in the woods.

Or when he’d thought he was alone.

It had sounded almost like a human voice in great pain or distress.

He looked at the trail again, wondering who had made it. It was well traveled, more so than the one he’d been following, but it seemed to lead deeper into the woods, farther away from any areas frequently visited by people.

Seemed to was the key, he had no idea where it might actually lead, how close or far from civilization he might actually be. For all he knew there was a housing development, rows and rows of identical homes and manicured lawns, just a mile away.

He didn’t think so though, something about the area, how free of trash and signs of disturbance it was made him think that he was much farther out in the woods than that.

He’d always wondered what would happen if he got lost in the woods, how he’d need to find his own way back, because the odds of someone finding him were slim, but he’d never considered that he might stumble across someone else lost and if there was another person somewhere nearby there was a chance that they were lost.

“Who’s there?” He called out, certain that there was someone near him.

Someone who needed help and was hiding because they were afraid, not for other reasons whatever those other reasons might have been. People were generally good after all and he’d never worried what might happen if he met up with someone unexpectedly out in the woods. It had happened before, usually a bit of good natured conversation or a silent greeting was exchanged as they went on their respective ways.

There was no reason for him to be afraid, and yet…

The smell of skunk was stronger now, but under it there was something else, something that made him worried on an almost subconscious level.

The reeds moved so slightly that it might have bene the wind, except there was just one small patch moving and that movement was away from him.

He could go, head back and forget whatever strangeness was going on, but he couldn’t bring himself to turn his back. Fear and something else kept him staring at those reeds.

Another groan, softer this time, ending in an almost plaintive whimper, high enough in pitch that for a moment he thought that it might be a child.

That was impossible of course, how could a kid get lost this far away from anything?

Of course as soon as the thought came to him his mind immediately began to concoct stories about how that might have happened, wildly implausible stories, but none the less he knew he couldn’t leave without solving the mystery of the sound.

It was something that would haunt him for the rest of his life if he didn’t.

Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. An injured animal, unlikely as that was, was far more likely than him finding a person all the way out here.

Finding a good sized branch submerged in the water he pulled it free and slowly began to approach the source of the sound, using the piece of wood to push the reeds aside.

Whatever it was moved backward away from him, but not quickly, adding to his conviction that animal or otherwise, it was injured.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he reassured, not sure what good it would do.

The movement stopped and there was a sigh, this one sounding somehow resigned.

Carefully he pushed more reeds back, nearly falling over as he stumbled backwards from what was revealed.

His first impression was that the thing was a bear. It was huge and covered with shaggy black fur and that alone was nearly enough to make him run, but he didn’t. You weren’t supposed to run from dangerous animals, the sudden movement would make them pounce.

Looking back he had no clue why he stayed to take another better look at the creature, but he did, maybe because he’d convinced himself that whatever it was it was hurt and needed help, not that he could have helped it if it was a black bear, but maybe he could have told someone who could have. There were wildlife rescue organizations after all.

It wasn’t a bear though. The shape was all wrong, the legs too long, the shoulders too wide. In fact it had distinct shoulders and its limbs didn’t end in paws, but hands. Even its feet looked like hands. Had he found a monkey escaped from some zoo? He didn’t think so, that sort of thing would have been all over the news, unless it had happened years ago.

Besides, the thing was big, like a gorilla except that wasn’t right either.

It was big enough to be a gorilla, but its legs were too long, like it was supposed to be walking upright, and the fur wasn’t right either, thin and streaked with white over its stomach and chest, its hairless muzzle pale rather than black, and then there was the way it was looking at him, deep set, dark eyes half closed, glassy with exhaustion.

The creature was the source of the smell.

Not only did it stink horribly on its own, one of its feet was badly swollen, the fur of that leg matted with dried blood and the signs of infection.

The creature was injured, but large enough that it was far from helpless and it was staring straight at him, a sure sign of aggression in animals, but the creature didn’t seem aggressive.

In fact, now that he was actually looking at it he saw that what he’d at first assumed was a bunch of dead reeds that it had been laying on was an intricately woven bag made of dried reeds and what looked like the silvery inside of a potato chip bag.

Slowly realization began to dawn on him. What he was seeing was so implausible, so utterly unbelievable that he’d never imagined it, even though it was so obvious in hindsight. What he’d found was the legendary skunk ape and it was injured.

Grant looked around again, half wondering if things would get even more surreal. Would a unicorn run by chased by a chubacabra? Would he wake up in his bedroom hungover and swearing never to go out to such a crazy party again while he tried to figure out who spiked his drink?

No hidden cameras appeared accompanied by a laugh track. He didn’t wake up.

It was just him and the skunk ape.

He had to do something.

Taking a water bottle from his backpack he offered it to the skunk ape.

It stared at him, completely still save for the rise and fall of its chest and its dark eyes darting back and forth.

Opening the bottle Grant took a small sip of water and then tried offering the bottle again.

The skunk ape took the bottle and drank greedily.

When the bottle was empty it handed it back to him and made a small, soft noise, eyes far more alert, as Grant searched through his backpack until he found a granola bar. One that didn’t have any chocolate in it because he wasn’t sure if it would make the skunk ape sick. He knew chocolate was bad for dogs, but he wasn’t sure why and didn’t want to take any chances.

He opened the wrapper of the bar, broke off a small bit and ate it, then passed the rest to the skunk ape.

It took the granola bar more cautiously than it had the water, sniffing it cautiously before licking it. The ape’s lips pursed into a look of concentration and it sniffed the bar once again, its expression changing to one of incredulity before taking the tiniest bite.

Its eyes went wide enough that the whites were visible and it let out a sound halfway between a wheeze and a whistle before taking another, much larger bit of the bar. Its lips curled into an unmistakable smile as it chewed, finishing the bar with its next bite.

When it was done it licked the wrapper before putting it in the pouch of reeds and foil it carried.

Looking straight at him it repeated the same noise it had made after the water.

More noises followed, rising and falling in tone as the ape made elaborate gestures with its almost human-like hands.

Not only was it intelligent, though the bag it carried was proof of that, the skunk ape was talking to him, not that he could understand.

“I’m Grant,” he held out a hand to the ape in an attempt at an introduction.

The skunk ape stared at him, puzzled.

Of course, it worked both ways, neither of them understood what the other was saying.

He laughed at himself for assuming that it would be otherwise and much to his surprise the ape relaxed visibly, even letting out a wheezing laugh of its own.

It seemed that there was that much in common between them

The ape let out a breathy woofing noise before letting out a series of sounds too fast for him to even try to make sense of.

Giving up on introductions, Grant turned back to the question of what to do about the ape. The skunk ape was badly injured and in a great deal of pain.

Leaving him, for upon closer examination Grant had decided that the skunk ape was definitely male, wasn’t an option, but getting help didn’t seem possible either. Even if he could convince someone that there was an injured skunk ape badly in need of help, what would happen after that? Grant wanted to believe that since he was obviously intelligent that the skunk ape wouldn’t be kept in a zoo or anything like that and would end up in a proper hospital, but news of the discovery was bound to spread, bringing who knew how many people into the forests and everglades to search for his people. A people, who if they’d wanted to be found, would have emerged on their own long ago.

Kneeling next to the skunk ape Grant didn’t think that it was much of a stretch to imagine that the skunk ape’s expression was one of deep regret as he considered the very same problem.

“Let’s at least get you cleaned up,” Grant said at last, figuring that it was the least he could do and the same as he would have done for a person in the skunk ape’s situation.

Taking out another bottle of water from his pack Grant carefully poured it over the skunk ape’s leg and foot. The skunk ape, understanding what he was doing, lifted his leg slightly despite the action clearly causing him pain, making it easier for Grant to wash his injured foot.

It looked like the injury was some kind of bite, probably an alligator judging by the size and spread of the puncture wounds. Out here in the woods there wasn’t much he could do, he had a basic first aid kit he always carried with him just in case, but an injury like the skunk ape’s would take a lot more than that. It was a start though.

“Alright,” Grant put a hand on the skunk ape’s arm and gave what he hoped was a reassuring look. The skunk ape seemed to understand, sitting up and even managing a thin smile. Grant could understand that though, being in trouble all alone in the woods and having someone speak to you and offer help, even someone strange, would be a comfort, “This might hurt, but I’m trying to help, okay?”

Of course the skunk ape couldn’t understand him, but he hoped that his tone conveyed intent.

Taking off his backpack Grant got out his first aid kit and went to work.

Wiping away as much of the dirt out of the matted fur around the injuries Grant then cautiously dabbed the worst of the puncture wounds with ointment and bandaged ape’s foot with the roll of gauze he kept in case of sprains.

Through it all the skunk ape watched him, his expression difficult to be sure of.

When he was done Grant stood up and offered the ape a hand. Hesitantly the skunk ape took it and so that Grant could help him to his feet.

Almost immediately the skunk ape let out a sharp gasp and fell against Grant.

So much for helping the skunk ape to some place that was more comfortable and the two of them going their separate ways.

“Alright,” Grant helped him so that the skunk ape’s arm was over his shoulder, “Let’s get going.”

Standing upright the skunk ape was taller than him, and far heavier as well, which made the going hard, especially over the soft, muddy ground around the pond.

Making it to drier land made things easier, but only slightly and the walk back to his car was a long and difficult one.


	3. Chapter 3

By the time they got back to the trailhead it was nearly noon, late enough in the day that Grant was worried despite the rest stop where he was parked being abandoned.

If someone saw him with an injured skunk ape what kind of trouble would he be in? Trespassing was an easy one to assume given that he had no clue if the land he’d been walking on was privately owned or not, and was what he was doing with the skunk ape poaching or kidnapping?

It was a crazy thing that he was doing, but he couldn’t think of anything else. There’d be time for that later, when the ape was recovered.

Or if things got worse, but he didn’t want to think about that unless he had to.

Helping the skunk ape get situated just off the side of the trail, hoping that his fur would protect him from the sawgrass there, Grant went ahead to see if they were alone.

Of course they were, his car was still the only one parked there and there was no sign that anyone had been by between his arrival that morning and now. He hardly ever saw anyone at these abandoned places, which made him feel better about unlocking his car and leaving the door open while he went back to get the ape.

Reassured, he shared his last bottle of water with the skunk ape and helped him over to the car.

Grant had been worried that getting the skunk ape into the car would be a problem, but he seemed to understand, letting out a heavy sigh as he settled into the seat and not making any move to protest as Grant buckled him in. Skunk ape or not, he wasn’t taking any chances while driving.

The ape’s eyes went wide and he let out a quiet hooting noise when Grant slammed the door, but he didn’t panic and seemed to visibly relax when Grant climbed in to the driver’s seat.

The smell of the skunk ape, which had been Grant’s one remaining concern, wasn’t so bad now that they were away from the marshland. Either it hadn’t actually been the ape himself or he’d gotten used to it. Whatever the reason, his concern of needing to ride with the windows open, something that would have left the ape far too visible for comfort, was groundless. He was able to drive with the AC on, careful to follow the speed limit just in case there were cops on the road that day. He’d never been pulled over before, but there was a first time for everything and if it happened today there was no telling what would come of it.

The drive home proved to be safe and uneventful, the ape spending the whole trip alternating between staring out the window and dozing, and Grant’s neighborhood was quiet enough, the house he rented set far enough back from the road, that there was no real risk of being seen, not that anyone was out to see them.

The ape woke up as he parked the car, looking around frantically.

“It’s alright,” Grant reassured, reaching out nervously to put a hand on the skunk ape’s shoulder, not sure how to calm him, “We’re at my house now.”

The ape stared at Grant uncomprehendingly, grabbing at his arm and struggling against the seatbelt as Grant got out of the car.

He rushed around to open the passenger side door and let the ape out.

As soon as the car door was open the skunk ape calmed down and was willing to let Grant bring him into the house.

The two of them left a trail of muddy footprints across the tile floor to the bathroom where Grant intended to get the skunk ape cleaned up so that he could see about doing something more for his injured foot.

Turning on the shower startled the skunk ape, until Grant guided his hand under the water to show that it was fine. Immediately the skunk ape’s expression went from being wary to puzzled.

“It’s alright,” Grant said, fairly sure that it would be an oft repeated phrase until the skunk ape was taken care of and returned home to the woods, “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Cleaning the skunk ape was something that Grant quickly realized was easier said than done. His initial plan of putting the ape in the shower wasn’t going to work since the skunk ape was large enough that he couldn’t physically place him in there and he showed no sign of wanting to enter on his own. The skunk ape was more than happy to hold his cupped hands under the water and sniff at it before drinking noisily, but that was the extent of it.

“Follow me,” Grant stepped into the shower, fully clothed, and gently coaxed the ape to follow him, which he did without hesitation.

The skunk ape trusted him, which was a good start considering what he was about to do.

He’d wanted to start by unwrapping the gauze and cleaning the ape’s injured foot, but jumping right to that, especially in the confines of the shower, seemed like a bad idea and the entirety of the ape needed to be cleaned given that he’d clearly been laying in muddy water before Grant found him. A top down approach would likely be best.

When Grant squirted a glob of shampoo into his hands the skunk ape wrinkled his nose as the smell.

“Don’t worry,” Grant demonstrated by rubbing a bit of the shampoo into his own hair, “This is just to get you cleaned up. Trust me, you’ll feel better afterwards.”

Taking a small amount of shampoo from his palm he rubbed it against the skunk ape’s arm, carefully working his fingers through the coarse hair there.

The skunk ape watched, fascinated as Grant worked up a lather on his arm, slowly making his way up the skunk ape’s long, muscular limb to his shoulders and back.

As he washed the skunk ape he could feel the tension leaving his muscles, his breathing slowing as he leaned against the wall of the shower, slowly sliding down until the two of them were crouched uncomfortably in the bottom of the shower, or at least Grant was uncomfortable, the skunk ape seemed quite relaxed.

As dirt and mud washed away with the lather Grant was able to more clearly see the white and silver markings on the skunk ape’s shoulders in an almost dappled pattern, its spread faintly reminiscent of a silverback gorilla. It made sense, he supposed, providing far better camouflage amid light and leaves than being solid black would.

Scrubbing the ape’s back caused him to grunt and emit quiet noises that sounded almost like cooing, the rise and fall of those sounds as well as the repetition making Grant certain that the ape was once again speaking, but the words and tone were very different from earlier.

“You’re enjoying this, huh?” Grant asked conversationally, because even if they couldn’t understand each other it felt wrong for the conversation to be totally one-sided.

The skunk ape’s reply was more muttering and cooing.

“Nice to get clean after all that I’m sure,” Grant replied when there was a pause in the ape’s vocalizations where it felt right for him to speak.

The ape turned, nearly knocking him over, but catching Grant with one strong hand. With the other he reached out and began to run his fingers through his hair, mimicking Grant’s scrubbing.

So apparently the ape wanted to return the favor. It was strange, but Grant wasn’t going to object, especially when it meant that it would be easier to finish washing the ape’s legs.

He started with the uninjured one, so that the ape would understand what he was doing, and when he finished the ape went so far as to offer his injured leg so that Grant could unwrap the bandage.

At first he just let the water wash over the ape’s injuries, washing away the rest of the dirt and loosening the matted fur, then, carefully, he began to work his fingers through the fur there so that he could get a better look at the injury.

His initial assessment of a gator bite seemed to hold up, there being four large punctures on the top and back of the ape’s foot near the ankle, three more on the bottom of his foot which must have made walking extremely painful, and a bunch of shallow scratches that looked half healed.

Grant was willing to take those half healed scratches as a good sign, that maybe the infection wasn’t too bad and once he got the wounds cleaned up and bandaged they might heal on their own otherwise he was going to need to figure out if you took a sick skunk ape to a veterinarian or to urgent care.

The skunk ape watched him with complete trust as he rinsed the injuries. Occasionally the skunk ape would flex his long toes and wince, but he didn’t pull away or bare his teeth. Language barrier or not he understood that Grant was trying to help him and when he was done cleaning the ape’s foot things did look a little better. It was hard to be sure, but with the dirt gone the swelling didn’t look quite so bad and the ape was moving his toes more at the end of it, hopefully indicating that there were no broken bones or other lasting damage.

When he’d done as much as he could Grant turned off the water and helped the skunk ape to his feet, which proved to be a mistake.

The floor was already covered in water from the shower curtain getting moved during the awkward bath, but as soon as the ape was on his feet he shook like a dog, covering everything that wasn’t already soaked with a layer of water and long, black hairs.

He looked pleased with himself afterwards, fur standing every which way as he said something in his strange, lilting language.

“Feeling better?” Grant smiled at him. Clean he certainly smelled better, the bitter, skunk smell completely gone.

His response was to start to shake again, which Grant stopped by throwing a towel over him.

The skunk ape froze, alarmed by the sudden weight on his shoulders.

“Like this,” Grant grabbed a second towel and demonstrated on himself before realizing that it wouldn’t do much good, as he was still fully clothed.

Unfortunately removing his shirt and stripping down to his boxers only seemed to alarm the skunk ape further if the skunk ape’s nervous blinking was anything to go by.

“I don’t know what’s got you so bothered,” Grant kept his tone light, hoping to calm the skunk ape, “But let’s get you dried off.”

The skunk ape’s response was to remove the satchel he had tied to his waist and put it down next to Grant’s clothing. Never taking his eyes off of Grant the skunk ape ran his fingers over Grant’s discarded shirt before doing the same with the satchel. For good measure he gestured back and forth between the shirt and the satchel.

Grant wasn’t sure of the meaning of it, but he nodded and took his best guess, “Yeah, the idea is pretty much the same.

The skunk ape gave what Grant was pretty sure was his version of a shrug and then stood up, reaching out and running his fingers over Grant’s chest as though to reassure himself of something.

From his chest the skunk ape’s fingers wandered to his back as though searching. It took Grant far longer than it should have to realize that his smooth skin was a source of puzzlement to the ape.

Grant supposed that as strange as the skunk ape was to him, he was even more so to the skunk ape, given that with hair on his head and not really anywhere else he must have come across as sick and mangy looking. Without shared language he realized that there was no way to explain to the ape that this was normal. Instead he took the opportunity to put his hands on the ape’s shoulders and start rubbing the towel back and forth, gently, but with increasing vigor once the ape understood what he was doing. In fact the skunk ape seemed to enjoy the toweling off, rolling his shoulders, shaking his head and letting out unmistakable laughter as Grant dried him.

He had no idea what the situation was like from the skunk ape’s perspective, but he was glad that the ape enjoyed it and actually seemed upset when it was over, though only for a moment.

As soon as Grant put the towel down the ape picked it up and immediately reciprocated, rubbing the towel all over Grant.

Once the ape was satisfied that he was dry, or that he’d done enough he began to pet him like he was a dog, smoothing Grant’s hair with his long, nimble fingers.

“Thanks,” Grant shrugged away, not sure of how else to respond. He was just trying to help the ape out and he hoped that he didn’t feel the need to do anything in return, mostly because he had no idea what the ape might do and the thought was admittedly worrying to him.

The ape wouldn’t have any of it and kept trying to smooth down Grant’s hair.

“Really, you don’t need to,” Grant tried again, this time picking up his hairbrush and showing the ape why it wasn’t necessary.

The ape watched him brush his hair with an expression of intense concentration, muttered and crooned something with a questioning intonation and then sat down on the floor with his back to Grant, his expression hopeful.

In the interest of keeping the ape comfortable and being polite Grant obliged and spent the next half hour combing the skunk ape’s thick fur. The task was surprisingly satisfying, especially given the way the skunk ape seemed genuinely grateful for it, his voice rising and falling in what might have been a song.

It was a pity, Grant realized, that he was so bad with languages, otherwise he might have gotten far more out of the interaction.

Somewhere along the line the ape gathered up the towels and bathmat and made a sort of nest for himself and eventually the singing stopped as the skunk ape began to doze off.

Quietly Grant rose to his feet and began to search through the medicine cabinet. He was sure that he had a half finished pack of azithromycin from a sinus infection last year. The stuff seemed to be prescribed for everything so he figured it would work for the skunk ape’s infection because it seemed like pain and fever were the biggest concerns with him and if those were taken care of he’d be fine.

In the back of the cabinet, hidden behind a mostly empty box of Q-tips he found the antibiotics.

At some point during his search the ape must have woken up, if he’d even been a sleep at all, because when Grant turned to offer him one of the pills he saw that the ape was watching him.

When he offered the pill the ape sniffed at it and gave him a puzzled look.

“It’s medicine to help with your foot,” he started to explain before realizing that telling the ape what it was was pointless. Instead he pantomimed taking one of the pills.

When the ape continued to stare he tried again, this time starting with an exaggerated expression of discomfort before pantomiming tossing a pill into his mouth and swallowing before smiling widely to show that it made him feel better.

The ape winced when he smiled, but reached out and took the pill, swallowing it dry before Grant had the chance to get him a glass of water.

The ape grimaced and shook his head before adjusting the nest he had made for himself, shifting listlessly until he found a position where he was comfortable, his head resting against the cool porcelain of the tub.

Relieved, Grant carefully stepped out of the bathroom and tried to figure out what to do next.


	4. Chapter 4

Research was necessary, basic first aid was the top priority to make sure that he was doing everything he could to treat the ape’s injury as well, as being able to recognize if what he was doing wasn’t enough. He’d found the number of a vet who did house calls just in case things went bad, figuring that it was safer than taking the skunk ape out in public.

Next came finding out what he could about skunk apes, which was disappointingly, though not surprisingly, little. Searching Bigfoot, Sasquatch and yetis was similarly unhelpful. Researching monkeys and gorillas, which he figured was the next best thing, gave him more information, but again nothing he could use except that maybe the skunk ape was a vegetarian because of how much he looked like a gorilla.

Thinking of him as a big monkey made some of what the skunk ape had done make a lot more sense. It turned out that the primary social activity of monkeys was sitting around grooming each other, which made sense given that there wasn’t really much else to do for them to entertain themselves out in the woods, and that monkeys groomed each other to strengthen social ties and relax. So by toweling off and brushing off the skunk ape Grant had probably made it clear that he was trying to help and had shown that he was a friend. Which also made the skunk ape petting him make more sense. From his perspective the bath and toweling off had been some sort of strange greeting

Figuring that, all things considered, he was off to a good start, Grant paused in his research to heat up a frozen pizza, before sitting down to take a break and watch TV.

Unfortunately his break didn’t last long. The oven timer went off and was answered by a fearful grunt from the bathroom.

The noise had woken the skunk ape and he didn’t sound happy, not that Grant could blame him.

Hurrying to the bathroom he found the skunk ape staring fearfully around, eyes wide. As soon as he saw Grant he blinked and relaxed slightly, before babbling what Grant could only imagine was a frantic stream of questions.

“Easy,” Grant held up his hands, “Everything’s okay.”

The skunk ape let out a grunt, perhaps an embarrassed laugh at forgetting that they couldn’t talk to each other and then rose carefully to his feet. Grant stood ready to help him, but the ape was able to manage by leaning against the sink. When he put his injured foot down he winced and flexed his toes, breathing heavily as he did so.

At first Grant thought that he was hyperventilating, but then he noticed the slight tilt to the ape’s head and the way his nostrils flared wide.

He smelled the pizza and obviously recognized that the smell was food.

Grant guided the skunk ape to the kitchen, helping support him until they got to the table and he pulled out a chair for the ape to sit.

At first he stared uncertainly at the chair, until Grant demonstrated, after which he sat down with a thin-lipped smile, looking thoroughly impressed at the idea of chairs and a table.

Putting the pizza on the stove top to cool, Grant grabbed what he figured was appropriate food for the skunk ape, some apples and bananas, and an orange.

The skunk ape took the orange without hesitation, eating it rind and all, before sniffing curiously at an apple and taking a careful bite. His lips pursed in a thoughtful expression as he finished the apple while Grant showed him how to peel a banana.

The skunk ape took a banana of his own and did as Grant had shown, taking a bite and then grimacing. He put the banana down with a dismissive gesture and Grant fought back a laugh.

Apparently the stereotype of monkeys liking bananas was wrong.

While the ape ate another apple Grant cut the pizza into slices and put it on a plate.

The skunk ape turned to watch him, again sniffing loudly.

“Sorry if you don’t like the smell,” Grant apologized, figuring that a pepperoni pizza might smell pretty bad to a creature that was a vegetarian, “I’m hungry though.”

The skunk ape kept watching him, dark eyes darting back and forth between the fruit and the pizza.

“We don’t eat the same things, I know,” Grant took a bite of the pizza, exhaling sharply when the hot cheese burned the roof of his mouth.

His expression earned him a look of concern from the skunk ape.

“Don’t worry,” he waved his hand in what he hoped the ape would understand as a dismissive gesture, “It’s just hot.”

The skunk ape sniffed loudly.

Now that he was dry the skunk ape hardly had any smell at all, except for a faint sort of dry and dusty smell, which was a good thing. Maybe like an actual skunk he only smelled bad if he was upset, meaning that Grant was going to do his best to keep him happy.

It wasn’t until the second slice that he caught the skunk ape licking his lips and realized that the skunk ape wasn’t bothered by the smell of the pizza, if anything the opposite was true.

He couldn’t explain to the ape why he wouldn’t like it and he felt like a jerk for showing it by giving him a slice, but Grant couldn’t think of any other way to handle the situation. He just had to hope that it didn’t upset the skunk ape too badly.

“If you really want to try it go for it, but I don’t think you’ll like it,” Grant said, mostly to reassure himself that he was at least warning the skunk ape, then passed him the smallest slice of pizza.

The skunk ape took it, inhaled deeply and took a bite. Immediately his eyes closed and he let out a soft cooing noise. He chewed slowly, probably unsure of the texture of the cheese.

Carefully the skunk ape picked a pepperoni off the pizza, Grant assuming it was with the intent to remove them all before his next bite. Instead he popped it into his mouth and gave Grant another of his thin smiles. He picked the rest of the pepperonis off the pizza and ate them one at a time before finishing the rest of the slice.

Apparently the skunk ape wasn’t a vegetarian after all.

When they were done eating Grant washed the dishes, the skunk ape watching him the whole time, clearly fascinated by the process. As soon as Grant was done the skunk ape went over to the sink and examined it, quickly figuring out how the hot and cold water worked before leaning over to sniff at the water and then drink his fill.

Afterwards he looked directly at Grant and let out a huff.

“I don’t get it,” Grant apologized.

The ape let out another huff, this one rising at the start and finishing sharply.

“I’m sorry,” he shook his head.

Undeterred the ape tried again, this time pointing at himself with a noise that was almost a groan and letting out another, slower series of huffs. He repeated the pattern of huffing noises, tapping his forehead with an open palm before turning his hand towards Grant and moving as though he were about to pat him on the head.

It took several repetitions of this, back and forth, before understanding came.

The huffing sounds were the ape’s name, something close to N’thoth, though there was a specific way of inhaling at the start of the word that Grant couldn’t manage and an almost chirp like rise at the end that he mangled badly enough to make the skunk ape wince when he tried to replicate it. N’thoth was the best compromise that he could manage, not much better than the skunk ape’s approximation of ‘Grant’ which involved several extra syllables and an almost sneeze like sound at the start.

Introductions having been managed, N’thoth seemed pleased, though Grant couldn’t blame him. He’d have been thrilled managing the same if their situations were reversed, not that hearing the skunk ape say his name hadn’t sent a thrill though him. He’d managed to communicate with an entirely different species and an undiscovered one at that. Not bad for a long weekend where his only plans had been to go hiking and be lazy.


	5. Chapter 5

“And that’s pretty much it,” Grant said, finishing giving N’thoth a tour of his house, “Other than the garage, which is mostly junk and my tools that I still haven’t organized. Working on other people’s cars all day kind of kills my motivation to set up some place to work on my own, especially when the side yard’s perfectly fine for that.”

That and he didn’t really want his neighbors to start asking him for help with their own automotive problems, not that he was going to mention it to N’thoth when he already felt silly saying as much as he had to someone who didn’t understand in the first place.

N’thoth was a good listener though, paying attention to every word, even if he didn’t understand.

Afterwards N’thoth tilted his head in what Grant understood was his equivalent of a nod of agreement.

It was the skunk ape’s second day at his house and he already seemed to be doing better. After lunch Grant had bandaged N’thoth’s foot and showed him how to take an aspirin, figuring that every little bit would help. Afterwards the ape returned to the bathroom to sleep, despite Grant offering the couch to him.

N’thoth had woken up later that evening and Grant had shared some leftover pasta and grilled chicken with him. The ape had eaten all of the pasta, though Grant had the feeling that he wasn’t that fond of either the taste or texture. The grilled chicken on the other hand had been eaten with a great deal of cooing and huffing after every bite

After that N’thoth returned to the bathroom to sleep.

When Grant went to check on him that morning N’thoth was already awake and seemed to be doing much better, standing up on his own and following Grant into the kitchen for a breakfast of oatmeal.

N’thoth had been fascinated by the process of microwaving instant oatmeal and after breakfast, for lack of any better ideas of what to do Grant decided to give the skunk ape a tour of the house.

Once N’thoth had seen everything there was to see in the house Grant showed him the back yard, figuring that with no neighbors on the one side and a fenced in yard on the other it was safe enough. Besides, the skunk ape might have wanted to get outside and stretch his legs.

This, more than anything else Grant had shown him, except maybe the refrigerator, fascinated N’thoth. Specifically it was the sort of drainage ditch behind the house that got the skunk ape’s attention. There was always water in it, as well as who knew what else. Turtles and frogs for sure, though the one woman who lived down the street had warned him that she’d seen an alligator while gardening. He’d dismissed the idea at the time, but now that he was standing next to N’thoth as he looked at the ditch he wondered. An alligator in the backyard was a lot more likely than a skunk ape after all.

N’thoth cautiously approached the water, probably expecting alligators or maybe snakes. There were plenty of those by the ditch after all. He crouched down and watched something before turning to Grant and asking what might have been a question in his strange, crooning language.

Grant supposed it made sense that the skunk ape was interested in the water, he’d found him by a pond after all, but he had no idea what the ape’s question might be.

N’thoth repeated his words, slowly and with greater enunciation, gesturing at the ditch with an open palm and then took off the woven satchel he carried around with him.

Carefully he undid the string holding it shut and spread it out to reveal the contents.

Curious to see what the ape had been carrying Grant came over and was surprised to see a collection of fishing hooks and lengths of string and monofilament.

N’thoth smiled without showing his teeth, which Grant had come to realize was how he always smiled. That was fine, he’d gotten a look at the ape’s teeth once when he’d yawned and N’thoth had a very impressive set of fangs. Tilting his head at Grant he gestured to the ditch and then to his fishing tackle, which Grant realized was a very eclectic set.

The lengths of monofilament and string were all carefully wound around sticks, with the string having a crude, handmade sort of look to it. The hooks were even more varied, the majority of them handmade, either from thorns or carefully carved twigs and one or two larger ones that might have been some kind of bone, though there were a number of battered looking store bought lures and several bobbers. Grant wondered where those had come from, then he considered the way he’d find trash in even the most remote places and how often fishing line and lures were lost. He’d even had one close call on a trail near one of the smaller lakes where he walked into a fishing lure that had somehow ended up dangling from a tree.

The skunk ape gestured proudly at his collection of hooks and lures, picking up a small treble hook for Grant to examine before noticing that Grant was looking at one of the large bone hooks. N’thoth let out a huff, chest puffing with pride as he passed it to Grant and launched into what was obviously a fishing story, complete with pantomiming pulling in a fish and holding his hands apart to show how large it had been. By the looks of things the bone hooks had been used to catch some very large fish.

Ending his story with a dismissive gesture, that there wouldn’t be any fish like that in the drainage ditch, N’thoth selected one of the smaller treble hooks and began digging through the grass and mud at the edge of the ditch.

Grant started to tell him that fishing might not be the best idea, that he wasn’t even sure if there were any fish in the ditch, but realized it wasn’t worth the effort. He had no clue how to explain without coming across as rude and the skunk ape probably knew more about what he was doing than Grant did. Besides, it gave him something to do and Grant really doubted that the neighbors would look over their fence and see him. They hardly went out to begin with and given that no one had ever seen a skunk ape up close before N’thoth likely knew how to hide.

“I guess you can try, but come inside if you hear anything.”

N’thoth nodded, an imitation of Grant rather than actual agreement, his response to when he wanted to be polite, but didn’t understand what was being said. He’d managed to find some sort of bug to use as bait and was focused intently on the water, sitting so still that he looked more like some sort of strange lawn ornament than an actual living creature. Seeing him like that Grant understood how easy it would be to walk by him in the woods without ever seeing him.

Grant watched for several minutes, but when N’thoth’s fishing efforts proved as uneventful as he had expected, he went inside to watch TV. He expected that N’thoth would give up soon enough and come inside, but N’thoth proved far more persistent than he’d anticipated.

It was several hours before the skunk ape came back inside, proudly carrying nearly a dozen small fish dangling from a length of string. N’thoth held up his catch for Grant’s appraisal before heading to the kitchen. His intent was clear, Grant had provided him with food for the past two days and now he intended to return the favor. He could appreciate the intend, but the mess that might result worried him

Grant followed him, dragging his feet across the floor in an attempt to wipe up the water dripping from the fish with his socks.

N’thoth dropped the fish in the sink and glanced at Grant before gesturing at the knife block on the counter.

“Yeah, sure,” Grant motioned for him to take one, “Just don’t clean them in the kitchen.”

For good measure he pointed outside.

The skunk ape’s lips pursed in a puzzled expression.

Grant repeated his gesture towards the back door, this time with an open palm in an imitation of the way N’thoth gestured.

N’thoth let out a hoot of surprise, followed by a soft huff, gesturing open palmed at the knives and then pointing with his index finger.

“It’s the same,” Grant agreed, pointing with one hand and keeping the other open.

Another bit of communication had been established, small as it was, that pointing and an open palmed wave were equivalent gestures between the two of them.

N’thoth was a fast learner and more observant than Grant had expected, managing to have figured out his way around the kitchen from watching for one day and the tour Grant had given him.

Keeping one eye on Grant he examined each of the knives in the block in turn before selecting a thin, sharp one that Grant had mostly used to open mail and the times when he didn’t have a clean steak knife.

N’thoth cooed something that Grant thought might have been ‘thanks’ because it was similar enough to the sounds he made after eating.

Thankfully N’thoth did clean the fish outside, slicing each open with a single deft movement and tossing the guts into the ditch before carefully rubbing the fish between his hands underwater to finish cleaning them, not that Grant thought the ditch water was terribly clean to begin with and the thought that he might soon be eating something that had been caught out of it was rather daunting.

Still, if you cooked anything for long enough it was bound to be safe to eat, right?

At the same time there was no sense in taking more chances than necessary.

“Let’s wash them in the sink instead, okay?”

N’thoth made one of his questioning sounds.

“The sink,” Grant repeated, waiting for the skunk ape to finish so that he could show him.

Inside Grant gestured from the fish to the sink, “Wash them there.”

For good measure he pantomimed turning on the water, something he knew the skunk ape could do, having seen him do it plenty of times, whenever he wanted something to drink, and sometimes jot to marvel at the hot and cold water. N’thoth seemed surprised by the idea, but complied.

With the fish as clean as they were going to be the real challenge presented itself. How to cook them?

N’thoth had his own ideas, but between being unable to communicate them and unable to figure out how to make it work in Grant’s kitchen it seemed a dead end. Letting him start a fire in the backyard to cook them over was out of the question, though that seemed to be what N’thoth was trying to suggest, based on a series of very clear gestures.

An online search suggested that the best way to cook little fish whole was to bread and fry them, but Grant didn’t have breadcrumbs or cooking oil, so he settled for what he hoped was the next best thing; melting some butter in a frying pan and cooking them that way.

Again N’thoth proved to be a fast learner, catching on to how to use the frying pan and spatula once Grant got him started. Watching the skunk ape carefully cooking fish in the kitchen, acting almost as though he belonged there, Grant had a disturbing thought. As quickly as the skunk ape learned, what if N’thoth was the smarter of the two of them? What if he was the one who frustrated the skunk ape with his inability to understand things?

Everything about the skunk ape proved that he was smart, from the start his kind had managed to remain hidden as long as they had, but they also spoke their own language and made tools. Or at least fishing hooks and bags to carry them in. There was no telling what else they’d managed out in the wilderness, away from the prying eyes of humanity.

Grant thought back to the times he’d gotten the feeling of being watched while out hiking in remote areas, found stray bits of trash placed deliberately in noticeable locations, like old bottles at eyelevel in the forks of trees, or seen the remains of campfires hours from anywhere.

It was easy to assume that the feeling of being watched was nerves, but what if it wasn’t? What if he’d been observed by skunk apes, what if they were the ones placing the objects as a way of marking unsafe areas, or if the old fires he found had been where they had cooked a meal? Assuming that the fires and oddly places items were people was the easiest and most rational assumption, but meeting N’thoth sent all of that kind of thinking straight out the window.

N’thoth had been nervous at first, but not outright afraid so Grant felt it safe to assume that he wasn’t the first person the skunk ape had seen.

How common were skunk apes? Were there dozens of them? Hundreds? Thousands? He thought about how many deer there were supposed to be out there and how few he’d actually seen when out walking. Those deer weren’t even trying to hide, often standing to watch as he walked by. If they’d been trying he probably never would have seen them at all.

His thoughts were interrupted by an almost bird-like whistling noise from N’thoth, letting him know that the fish was ready.

N’thoth watched as he got plates out of the cabinets and motioned for the skunk ape to serve the fish.

The skunk ape nodded, and began to divvy up the fish. He was meticulous about it, selecting the fish one at a time and putting them on one plate or the other. If there was a pattern to it Grant couldn’t tell what it was, but there was such deliberateness to it that he wished he knew how to ask the meaning of it.

If they could properly talk to each other there was no telling how much he might learn from N’thoth.

When all the fish were on one plate or another N’thoth passed him one with great gravity.

Grant wasn’t enthused about eating fish that still had their scales and bones, but there was no way he could refuse without risking offending the skunk ape, which was the last thing he wanted to do when N’thoth was only trying to return the favors he had done him.

Getting forks out of the silverware drawer and bringing the salt and pepper shakers to the table could only work to stall things for so long before he had to sit down and eat, carefully pulling a small morsel of meat off one of the fish, making sure it was free of scales or bones before trying it.

Discovering that it was fine, if bland, was a relief and N’thoth wasn’t bothered when he sprinkled some salt on his plate of fish.

“We need to figure out what to do from here,” Grant said as they ate together, “I’ve got work tomorrow and I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust N’thoth, though he’d had some bad roommates in the past that had left him leery, it was that it was too easy to imagine worst case situations where someone might come to his house and discover the skunk ape, or for N’thoth to be seen through some convoluted series of events. Being thought of as crazy aside, N’thoth and his people had their reasons for not wanting to be found and Grant didn’t want to be the one to ruin it for them.

As much as N’thoth was one of his better roommates, good company and a good listener, not to mention someone to talk to. Given time there was so much that they could learn from each other and N’thoth was interesting, not just as a curiosity, but as a person. He wanted to learn the skunk ape’s language so that they could actually talk. There was so much he wanted to ask him, but there wasn’t time for that.

N’thoth had a home, probably a family and friends who were undoubtedly worried about him. Getting him back home, the sooner better, was the right thing to do. Even if he wouldn’t have minded if there was a way for N’thoth to stay safely with him for a little longer.

If N’thoth didn’t want to Grant was sure he could figure out a way for him to stay longer and keep him safe, but he knew that was him being selfish, wanting to make things last longer, keep the surreality of having a skunk ape going on for just a little longer.

N’thoth’s response to his bringing up the matter was an overemphasized look of confusion and a rising sound that Grant had come to understand represented a question.

“We need to get you back home,” Grant pointed in the direction of the front door and the car out in the driveway, “If you’re feeling well enough for it.”

Two days on antibiotics had worked wonders. The swelling was almost gone and the injuries were starting to close, but Grant was still worried. It was foolish because the skunk ape could clearly take care of himself. It wasn’t like he was a lost kid, he was an adult and the only reason Grant had stumbled across him was because N’thoth had been too sick and injured to hide properly. N’thoth wasn’t stupid, far from it.

The skunk ape shook his head, a gesture he’d picked up from Grant. He didn’t use it as a negative though, rather it was his way of saying that he didn’t understand.

“You’ve got friends and family, right?” Grant picked up his phone and searched for some pictures of him and his friends where it was obvious they were having a good time. N’thoth might not have understood the context of the party where the picture had been taken, but he’d understand the expressions on their faces.

N’thoth inhaled sharply at the sight of the picture, peering at the screen before pointing to Grant in the picture and then gesturing with an open hand at Grant.

“Yup,” Grant pointed to himself in the picture, “That’s me. And there’s Suleiman and Mike B, Tony and Kevin.”

He pointed to each of his friends in the picture as he said their names. N’thoth repeated the names to the best of his ability and pointed at them before looking up at Grant, waiting for more of an explanation.

“They’re my friends,” he pointed at the group of them, “I’m sure you want to be with your friends again.”

N’thoth looked back down at the phone, pursed his lips and then named everyone in the picture, carefully pointing back and forth between the phone and Grant.

“Frhens,” he tested the word, looking carefully at how close everyone in the picture was, the way Tony had his arms over the shoulders of Suleiman and Mike, their smiles. Even if he smiled differently from a person, the expression was close enough that the skunk ape understood, “Frhens.”

Then he surprised Grant by gesturing between the two of them before throwing an arm over Grant’s shoulder, “Frhens.”

N’thoth followed up with a much longer statement that Grant didn’t understand, though if he didn’t know better he thought that the skunk ape sounded sorry and not for himself. How he’d managed to make the skunk ape feel bad for him, he didn’t know.

“We’ll get you back to your friends,” Grant brought the conversation back to the original subject, “Back home.”


	6. Chapter 6

The trip was safest under the cover of darkness so Grant killed time by showing N’thoth TV. The skunk ape had no interest in nature shows, surprisingly preferring to watch some standup comedian and laughing along with the audience. It took Grant time to realize that even if N’thoth didn’t understand the words, the energy and tone of the comedian captivated him and laughter was universal. There were times when Grant didn’t laugh along and the skunk ape would launch into huffing with the same cadence as the comedian’s talking, telling a story of his own, or maybe a joke to try and make Grant laugh and when that failed he ran his fingers through Grant’s hair and crooned to him.

The skunk ape also marveled at cooking shows, understanding how a kitchen worked from his short time in the house. Grant had no clue what N’thoth’s interpretation of the show was, but he seemed to approve of the way each dish was prepared.

When night came at last Grant checked outside to see that the coast as clear and hurried N’thoth into the car. He showed the skunk ape how to buckle himself in and they were off.

N’thoth’s eyes went wide when the car first started, turning to Grant, his look making it clear that he wanted to know what was going on.

“You were out of it on the ride here,” Grant laughed, “But this is normal. We’re getting you home. You know, home.”

He pointed back at his house and N’thoth turned to watch as they left it behind.

“That’s my home. Grant’s home,” he repeated, hoping that N’thoth didn’t think he was acting like an idiot, “We’re going to N’thoth’s home.”

N’thoth’s response was to correct him on the pronunciation of his name and then smile at Grant’s repeated attempts and failures.

Grant then tried to turn on some music, which N’thoth didn’t like at all, the skunk ape going so far as to bare his teeth, but they ended up compromising when N’thoth figured out how to roll the window down.

Sticking his head out the window like a dog, fur blowing back in the wind, N’thoth beamed at Grant, motioning for him to do the same.

So he did, and the two of them drove down the highway, laughing like idiots and singing along with whatever music N’thoth didn’t find too terrible to stand.

As always happens when you know where you’re going, they arrived at the abandoned rest stop far sooner than Grant had expected and he pulled off the highway.

N’thoth seemed disappointed that they’d stopped until he stepped out of the car and stared at the wilderness in front of them.

He sniffed curiously at the air, then tilted his head to better listen to the chorus of frogs and bugs.

Grant had brought a flashlight and carefully started into the woods, making sure that there was nothing out ahead of them, even if he couldn’t think of anything that would be immediately dangerous for the two of them. He didn’t like walking at night, always trying to time his outings to be back by sunset and even if he wasn’t alone, he was still uncomfortable.

N’thoth seemed to realize this and put a hand on his shoulder and even though Grant was the one leading the way with his light, he quickly discovered that N’thoth was guiding him, cooing and huffing what must have been words of reassurances.

By the time they got to the clearing where the remains of a fire showed that people occasionally hung out N’thoth obviously knew the way, urging Grant in the direction that they had come from on the first day. It shouldn’t have surprised him that N’thoth knew his way here. It wasn’t like they were really that far from where Grant had found the skunk ape, but he was still relieved. Walking out into the wilderness during the day was one thing, but at night where there was so much he couldn’t see, even areas where he was familiar with could be frightening.

N’thoth clearly felt no such apprehension, taking Grant’s arm in his hands and urging him forward when he stopped.

“If you know the way you can keep going,” Grant smiled at the skunk ape’s insistence, “Or if you really want I guess we can wait in the car and leave in the morning.”

N’thoth’s response was a frustrated huff, “Home.”

“Yes, you’re going home and I need to go home too, Grant’s home,” he pointed back in the direction of the car then out deeper into the woods, “N’thoth’s home”

“N’thoth home,” the skunk ape agreed, then motioned for Grant to come with him, “Grant and N’thoth home. Frhens.”

When Grant remained where he was N’thoth tried to elaborate, speaking slowly while gesturing back and forth between the two of them.

“Ko’hoh,” he said firmly, a word that had come up several times in his explanation and when Grant shook his head he put a hand to his stomach and chest, then gestured at the corners of his mouth smiling, before once again returning his hands to his stomach and chest, “Ko’hoh.”

Whatever the skunk ape was trying to say should have been obvious, Grant got that, but he couldn’t figure out what he was missing, “I’m sorry.”

“Frhens ko’hoh. N’thoth soo Grant ko’hoh.” N’thoth said slowly, “Sh Grant. Pah’ko’hoh.”

He finished with a dismissive gesture as he repeated the last bit.

Grant shook his head.

“Pah’ko’hoh,” N’thoth pulled the corners of his mouth down in a frown.

“What? No,” Grant shook his head more adamantly as realization dawned, “I’m not sad. I mean I guess I’ll miss you, but I’m not sad. I’ve got friends and a job I like and hobbies. Helping you has been a fun adventure, but I’m happy. Ko’hoh,” he gestured at himself, “Very ko’hoh.”

N’thoth gave him a look of disbelief and again motioned for him to follow.

“I’m sorry,” Grant sighed, wishing that he could explain himself to the skunk ape or clear up whatever misunderstanding there was, “I need to go home.”

Realizing that it was a lost cause, N’thoth nodded, walked over and leaned down to press his forehead against Grant’s. The skunk ape pursed his lips and for a moment Grant wondered if he was about to kiss him.

Did skunk apes kiss?

Instead N’thoth let out a sound almost like birdsong, a rising and falling tone that seemed to fill the darkness around them. It was a song, that much Grant could tell, but what was the meaning of it? He wished that he understood because there was so much emotion to it.

Rocking back and forth in time with his singing, N’thoth put his hands on Grant’s shoulders and without thinking Grant joined him, humming along and swaying along with the skunk ape in an odd duet.

N’thoth huffed and smiled, then ran his fingers through Grant’s hair, petting him.

N’thoth cooed and huffed and then shocked Grant by pulling a tuft of fur from his chest.

Grant stared, puzzled as the skunk ape held the tuft of fur out to him.

“I don’t get it,” Grant held up his hands.

Another huff, rising into a chirp and N’thoth sniffed at the fur then sniffed at Grant’s hair before again offering it to Grant.

He sort of got it, or at least he thought he did. N’thoth was offering it to his as a keepsake or something and a gesture like that left him feeling obliged to reciprocate.

Wincing, he reached up and pulled out a few of his own hairs, which elicited a noise of surprise and then delight from N’thoth when he offered them.

The exchange complete, N’thoth started to walk away, only to stop and turn around and shuffle his feet across the dirt.

Grant’s first thought was that it was a dance, maybe part of a skunk ape farewell ritual, but then N’thoth gestured up at the sky and motioned for Grant to come over.

Grant looked up and N’thoth let out an amused chirp before pointing at the ground.

He’d drawn out a series of circles, curves and lines. Grant’s first thought was writing, but then N’thoth pointed up with his hand and then used one of his toes to point at a specific part of the drawing, a curved shape. Grant looked closer at it, then up at the sky.

N’thoth waited patiently, repeating the same motions several times until Grant realized what he was looking at. N’thoth was pointing at the moon and had drawn out a calendar based on the moon.

Seeing Grant’s look of dawning realization N’thoth nodded and pointed at a different part of the calendar and gestured to the two of them.

“You want to meet up again?” Grant asked, taking is best guess.

The skunk ape gestured at the date he’d drawn out and then at the two of them before spinning in a circle.

“I’ll come here,” Grant waved at the clearing, then pointed at the date N’thoth had marked, “Then?”

N’thoth smiled and nodded, resting a hand on Grant’s shoulder.

“I’ll see you then,” he put his own hand on N’thoth’s as the skunk ape leaned forward to sniff at his hair as though to make sure that he remembered the smell of him.

Or maybe N’thoth was just worried that he might get lost in the woods and was committing his scent to memory just in case he had to track him down and bring him to safety.

Either way Grant found the gesture touching and, without thinking, he hugged N’thoth, patting him on the back the way he would with any other friend, though unlike with his human friends, he ran his fingers through the thick fur of N’thoth’s back.

For a moment N’thoth tensed, but then he returned the hug, long fingers gently moving up and down Grant’s back.

“Take care man,” Grant said quietly, “Be safe, okay?”

N’thoth huffed softly, not quite a laugh, but something close.

When they at last let go N’thoth let out one last soft coo before slowly walking away.

Twice before he vanished into the trees he turned back to see if Grant was following him, looking disappointed when Grant remained where he was.

Grant stared into the trees long after N’thoth had vanished from sight, waiting for what he didn’t know, then a screech owl cried out somewhere overhead, or at least Grant hoped it was a screech owl. He’d seen and heard them before and they always creeped him out.

The owl made him suddenly aware of how alone he felt standing in the woods, and how, though N’thoth’s departure had been silent, the woods were full of noises all around him.

Taking one last look at N’thoth’s calendar before taking out his phone to take a picture of it, Grant then hurried from the woods.

The date N’thoth had marked was some two months away, plenty of time to plan for a hike and figure out what to do.

First things first he decided that he was going to look up how to learn a different language so that he’d have better luck talking with N’thoth. After that he didn’t know, it would be an adventure that he’d tackle as it happened, because was why he went into the woods, wasn’t it? To see what was out there and just experience it.

He looked down at the tuft of fur he was carrying, the only proof he had of what had happened.

More than that though, it was proof that skunk apes were real, not that he planned on showing it to anyone. Just like how he often walked alone, there were some moments that weren’t made better by sharing them. Later when he was able to talk with N’thoth properly, if it turned out that the skunk ape wanted him to let his other friends know or even meet them he’d show them, but until then N’thoth was a secret that he would keep.

Back in his car Grant stared out into the darkness thinking about N’thoth and the past few days with him. Short a time as it had been he’d grown fond of the skunk ape, enough so that he already missed him. The worst part though was it wasn’t like with any of his other friends where he could call or send him a text, he’d have to wait.

Two whole months.

It would be a long wait, but at the end the wait would be well worth it.


	7. Chapter 7

_Han’nathoth had much to think about on his trip back home to his family. It was probably for the best that the man, Gah’nat, hadn’t chosen to accompany him. It would give him the chance to petition his granddaughter Kuu’nih’hi for permission to bring another young man into the tribe. It had been a good year for food and the stretch of wetlands that they had claimed as their own was doing well so there was no reason to think that his granddaughter would refuse his request. She was fair and respected the wisdom that came with age. That Gah’nat was one of the sickly ones would make things difficult, but once he explained the situation of the man he was sure that Kuu’nin’hi would agree._

_Never had he imagined the situation of the sickly ones and how awful it was. _

_Stories had been passed down for countless generations of the sickly due to their foul smell and lack of fur, and how they were to be avoided. Their appearance made that much clear, that they were certainly a death omen, and he had been sure that when Gah’nat had found him that that it was to take him into death. A peaceful one by the way he offered clear water and sweet food, but death none the less. _

_According to the stories that Han’nathoth had made sure that his children and grandchildren all knew, sickly ones were monsters. They killed from a distance, just as the sickly ones had, using sticks and poison stones, thunder and burning fire. These were things that heh ad only heard in stories, though given everything that the sickly ones were capable of he believed it all. They traveled in stones on stinking stone rivers, those he had seen for himself, even before Gah’nat, though until Gah’nat he had never imagined that was how they traveled, skipping along the stone rivers like a stone across water._

_Now though he could tell the tribe more of them, that they lived in stones and kept stones for company and had food in stones full of winter air and more stones that gave them water. It was a wondrous, but sad thing for beings with such gifts to have them alone with no tribe or family to share such wealth with. _

_Knowing that it made sense that they were fearsome and feral. No friends and family of their own, simply their stones to talk and laugh with for company. When they traveled in groups it was likely as wild beasts did, as mated pairs or a woman and children, soon to be alone again._

_Yet Gah’nat had shown him that they were capable of compassion, sharing food with him, grooming him, albeit rough and clumsy as a child in a kindness impossible to reciprocate properly, making their existence even more tragic. That a being like that lived alone under a rock like a bug, an unkind comparison given Gah’nat’s pale skin and the dark fur of his head made him resemble a redheaded grub, was heart wrenching._

_Even if Gah’nat was an exception, the sickly one in all of existence, something had to be done for him._

_Han’nathoth was sure that he could make his granddaughter understand that, that she could indulge her old grandfather and let him take Gah’nat as a companion as old men were wont to do. There was enough time that he would be able to win her over to the idea. Even if it took time, he was sure that she would be charmed by Gah’nat despite his strange ways and appearance. _

_Han’nathoth just hoped that the Gah’nat understood when to return. It was hard to tell what the man did and didn’t understand given his strange language, alternately muttering and harsh, which was a shame._

_Hopefully Gah’nat understood and he would be able to return Gah’nat’s saving his life by saving Gah’nat from loneliness. It was the least he could do, for once he was able to see past Gah’nat’s sickly appearance he saw that the man had a kindly soul, overflowing with generosity and the need to share it with someone. He was charming despite, or perhaps because of his strange ways._

_In two circles of the moon he would know and if Gah’nat did return he would Han’nathoth would bring him to his tribe and show him a wonder greater than any of those in the stone he dwelled in, for all those were just things. Family though, and friends, they were so much more than mere things and Han’nathoth wanted nothing more to share his family with Gah’nat and make him a part of it._


End file.
